Ramadan Notes #25: Let the Qur’an guide your clinical encounters

As-salamu’alaykum,

Today, we turn our attention to the idea of practicing Taqwa at the bedside. What does this even mean and how would you recognize a colleague who is excelling in this regard? This is particularly relevant for anyone working any of these last 10 days or nights in order to make our work count on our scales of good deeds in this auspicious part of the month.

I offer a physician-centric lens for you to consider in approaching this. Please feel free to appraise this and share your thoughts and/or feedback.

1. Approach your clinical encounters with a listening heart - not simply with your ears. We again revisit Sir William Osler M.D.’s famous quote - “listen to the patient; he is telling you the diagnosis”. This provides an objective foundation to lean into wherein listening with the heart takes it to the next level and fosters a deeper connection with the patient that engenders empathy and an optimized clinical experience for all parties.

2. Document your encounters with a long-term view not the C.Y.A. approach but rather with the mindset that this meaningful content has the potential to impact the patient’s clinical experience during the index encounter and potentially for many years beyond that.  

3. Bill for encounters with a high sense of integrity - a core value of a believer practicing mindfulness of Allah. Prophet Muhammad SAW was so trustworthy that even the disbelievers would entrust him with their most prized possessions. 

4. Prioritize trust in your approach to communication with all key stakeholders especially your patients and their families.

5. Be vigilant for opportunities for improvement in your personal and practice workflow. This upstream thinking will set you apart and help you to optimize your processes and deliver even better care in a more efficient manner.

6. Ask for forgiveness often as you go about your day - Istighfar has many virtues including removing stress and anxiety, opening doors of knowledge and sustenance all of which we all need in our busy and chaotic days in healthcare. It also establishes for you a practical aspect to mindfulness of Allah, the Most High in a fairly straightforward manner.

Ibn 'Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "If anyone constantly seeks pardon (from Allah), Allah will appoint for him a way out of every distress and a relief from every anxiety, and will provide sustenance for him from where he expects not." [Abu Dawud; Riyad as-Salihin 1873].

7. Make sincere du’a (prayers) for the people that are under your care for healing which is divine as much as it is an attribute of the Qur’an. 

Surah Al-Isra’ v82: “We send down the Quran as a healing and mercy for the believers, but it only increases the wrongdoers in loss.”

The approach summarized above tries to balance our responsibility of mindfulness of Allah, the Most High, in all our healthcare interactions with addressing the rights and the responsibilities that we owe to those that we care for and the team that is journeying with us in the care of these patients. 

In essence, we can aspire to the role of ambassadors of the Quranic message when we approach our roles in healthcare with the Quranic mindset and better manage ourselves while espousing the beautiful teachings of Islam.

Turning  to the Qur’an often opens up our hearts and minds to its hidden treasures to help us make deeper connections with the sacrifices that our work entails and process them in constructive ways.  

May Allah SWT, Al-Haadi (the Supreme Guide) guide us to cultivate an improved relationship with the Quran in a way that transforms our service to humanity. Amin

Sincerely,

Sulyman

P.S. What other suggestions do you have for me and others in this regard? Share in the comments section or reply to [email protected]

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P.P.S. I made my second mistake in the series count last night 🙈. Your brother is just a little bit tired but it is well worth it. Thank you for patience and generosity on this journey with me.